Fredericksburg Parent

24 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • Stories of Strength - One Year Stronger A Shot in the Arm for the Fredericksburg Community WRITTEN BY EMILY FREEHLING Mary Washington Healthcare vaccine clinic delivered 209,189 doses in eight months Mary Washington Healthcare After nine months of school and business shutdowns, climbing hospitalizations and loss of life, the Food and Drug Administration's authorization in December 2020 of two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use was like a ray of light. Finally, the world had a tool that could help protect individuals from the virus that had caused such catastrophic loss. It was clear from the beginning that getting these important shots into the arms of mem- bers of the Fredericksburg community would require sophisticated planning, logistics and manpower. Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC) recognized early on that even though hospitals had been stretched to the limit caring for COVID-19 patients for the past nine months, the task of mobilizing vaccine distribution was an important way for the nonprofit regional health system to serve its community. "It really fits within our mis- sion here at Mary Washington Healthcare, which is to improve the health of the people in the com- munities we serve," says Michael McDermott, MD, MWHC president and CEO. "There's no better way for us to help protect the health of our community than to administer vaccines." Mary Washington Healthcare stood up a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the John J. Fick III Conference Center adjacent to Mary Washington Hospital. Between January and August 2021, this clin- ic administered more than 200,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses. The clinic would not have been possible without countless health- care workers and community mem- bers who worked extra shifts and volunteered their time to turn the administration of vaccines into an experience that many in the com- munity will always remember as the first time since the pandemic began that they could truly hope for a return to normalcy. "The vaccine clinic represented in my estimation the pinnacle of the organization coming together and really responding after having had such a difficult year," says Stephen Mandell, MD, vice president and senior medical director of Mary Washington Hospital. "When the vaccine finally came out, there was a collective sharing of hope among all of our associates, a willingness to volunteer and work to put the logistics in place."

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